Seal-lock



`N M d1. o e) R. W. GILLBSPIE.

SEAL LOCK.

No. 412,083. Patented 00's. 1, 1889.

:Egl l l UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

ROBERT W. GILLESPIE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

S EA L L O C K SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,083,dated October 1, 1889. Application filed September 29, 1888. Serial No.286,779. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT l/V. GILLESPIE, of the city of St. Louis, inthe State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Seal-Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this speciiication, and in Which- Figure I is a sideelevation showing part of a railway-car and its door with my seal-lockapplied. Fig. II is a transverse section taken on line II II, Fig. I.FigIII is an enlarged perspective view of the shank portion of theseal-lock. Fig. IV is an enlarged elevation of the seal. Fig. V is aside elevation of the shank portion and a vertical section of the capportion of the seal, the two being united. Fig. VI is a transversesection taken on line VI VI, Fig. V. Fig. V II illustrates a slightmodification in which a straight, instead of a bent, shank is used.

My invention relates to an improved seallock intended more particularlyfor use on railway-ears, but which may be used for other purposes; andmy invention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fullydescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents part 0f a car-body, and 2 partof the door. The body is provided with a staple 3, and the door with astaple 4, to receive the shank portion 5,01? my improved lock.

The shank is preferably bent in the form shown in Fig. III, but may bemade straight, as shown in Fig. VII, and it has on one end a ring orenlargement 6 for holding it in one of the staples, and on the other endit is provided Wit-h an arrow-head 7. The shank is preferably made froma half-round bar or rod, bent with its flat sides together, as shown inFigs. III, V, and VI, the ring or enlargement 6 being formed in makingthe bend. The head 7 of the shank is divided centrally,

Vbeing formed of the ends of the bar or rod,

and thus being divided into two parts, as illustrated. Each part of thehead has a slit 8, forming a spring-prong 9, and cut as shown at 10, anddownwardly-projecting barbs 9A.

` seal.

l1 represents the seal, having a central chamber 12 and a contractedneck or opening 13.

The shank. is first inserted through the staples, as shown in Figs. Iand VII, and then the seal (which is made of fragile material) isapplied, and as the seal is larger than the staple through which thisend passes it will be seen thatthe shank will be held upon the stapleuntil the seal is broken. Upon in serting the seal the two parts of thehead 7 spring together, they being slightly spread apart in its normalposition, as shown in Figs. III and IV, and the prongs 9 likewise springinward, permitting the application of the As soon as the seal is fullyadjusted, the head expands, and the prongs 9 likewise expand, engagingthe shoulder 14 of the seal at the base of the chamber 12.

By forming the spring-prongs 9, I produce a more secure connectionbetween the head of the shank and the seal, as with the same sizeopening 13, I secure a broader base or bearing upon the head of theshank when the seal has been adj usted-that is to say, as the seal isapplied the head contracts through means of its central split 15, andfurther contracts through means of the slits 8, and when the seal isadjusted to its place the head expands at the split l5 and also at theslits 8.

In Fig. II, I have shown a packing between the door and the door-frame,consisting of a strip of suitable material, which is V shape incross-section, and which extends from top to the bottom of the door, asshown at 16 in My seals are preferably made of Wood, but may be ofpottery, glass, or any other frangible material.

It will be seen that when using my lockseal the use of a hasp isaltogether avoided, as the locking-pin takes the place of the hasp andperforms its function of holding the door to its j amb.

I claim as my invention-i 1. In a seal-lock, the combination of theshank having an arrow-head provided with spring-points 9 anddownwardly-projecting barbs contiguous thereto, and a hollow sel theshank and a ring at the other end,` and a, havngfa contracted neck,substantallylas set hollowv seal with a contracted nook, substanvforth.tially as and for the purposes set forth. 2. In a. seal-look, thecombination of the ROBERT W. GILLESPI-E.

5 shank formed of a single piece of half-round In presence ofmetal bentso that the ends are approx- BENJN. A. KNIGHT, mately parallel, anarrow-head on one end of EDW. S. KNIGHT.

